Field of the Invention
This invention relates to systems and methods for designing and generating devices or objects on a computer. More particularly, the invention relates to designing and generating devices or products on a computer using accuracy maps and stability analysis.
Description of the Related Technology
Object design and manufacture are used to create necessary tools for a number of different industries. For example, parts, tools, etc. may be designed and manufactured for use in all aspects of everyday life. The process of designing and manufacturing such objects, however, can be time intensive and expensive. For example, traditional manufacturing techniques may require designing and building a prototype, creating molds based on the design, drilling and cutting of components, and other time consuming and expensive techniques to create a single object. There may be economies of scale when making subsequent objects identical to the initially designed object as molds, etc. can be reused. However, for one off objects, no such economies of scale are gained.
Accordingly, traditional design and manufacturing techniques are ill suited for generating one off or customized objects, such as, surgical implants specifically designed for a patient, prototypes, etc. Processes such as additive manufacturing (e.g., 3-D printing), can overcome such limitations by reducing the time and cost of creating an object. Additive manufacturing can be defined as a group of techniques used to fabricate a tangible model of an object, such as using three-dimensional (3-D) computer aided design (CAD) data of the object.
Typically, additive manufacturing techniques start from a digital representation of the 3-D object to be formed. Generally, the digital representation is sliced into a series of cross-sectional layers that can be overlaid to form the object as a whole. An additive manufacturing apparatus uses this data for building the object on a layer-by-layer basis. Simulation models may be used along with reference data (e.g., 2-D data) to generate a 3-D digital representation of an object. The accuracy of the 3-D digital representation of the object may vary depending on the process used to obtain the digital representation. Various applications (e.g., machining, surgical, manufacturing, etc.) may require accurate and precise representations of objects in order to design usable products for use with those objects. Furthermore, it is desired that a product designed for use with an object is stable with regard to that object. Accordingly, improved systems and techniques are needed for designing and generating a device or product.